July 24, 2008

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason University Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Tom O'Connor announced that Andrew Gerard will serve as Director of the Men's and Women's Track and Field program for the Patriots. He has been the head coach of the men's track and field program for the past three seasons.

"This is a well deserved promotion for Gerard," O'Connor said. "He has been a very successful Division I coach at the national level for 12 years and his reputation and record speak for itself. In his three seasons at Mason as the men's coach he has made considerable strides in revitalizing some of the Patriots past glory. I expect him to enjoy that success on the women's side as well."

"I am thrilled that Tom O'Connor and the administration have the confidence in me to ask me to direct both the men's and women's programs," said Gerard. "In just my short time here at Mason, I have been very pleased with the progress of the men's program and hope that we, the staff and I, can do the same with the women's program. The history of women's track and field and cross country at Mason, as with many women's sports, is a rich one. The coaches that have preceded us have certainly established a high bar and we look forward to adding to that heritage in the near future. As a combined program, I look forward to seeing our men's and women's teams working as one towards even bigger things."

Gerard is entering his fourth season at Mason and 13th overall as a collegiate head coach. Gerard began his head coaching career at CAA rival William and Mary (1997-03) after serving as assistant cross country coach at Stanford (1993-96). He returned to Stanford in August of 2003, moving up to the position of head men's cross country coach and assistant track and field coach. In his first year back at Stanford, Gerard led the Cardinal to the 2003 NCAA Men's Cross Country title, NCAA West Regional title, and Pac-10 Championship title, earning him both Pac-10 and USTCA National Coach of the Year honors.

During the last three years, Gerard has overseen the resurgence of the Patriot men's track and field and cross-country programs, a period during which both the team and individual academic and athletic success have grown considerably. Last year, during the course of the outdoor season, Gerard led the Patriots to a 12th place finish at the IC4A Championships.

That championship stretch saw individual CAA titles won by both freshman Dwight Webley in the long jump and Michael Pachella in the 800m. In addition, Webley won the IC4A outdoor title in the long jump, improving on his runner-up finish indoors. In all, ten Patriots earned honors as All-IC4A selections between the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Individually, the duo of Webley and Pachella further competed along with senior Ryan McCoy at the NCAA East Regional Championships, and McCoy, an All-East Region Team selection, advanced to the national championships where he finished 16th in the triple jump. Both McCoy and Pachella notched US Olympic Trials qualifying performances during the course of the season, with McCoy ultimately placing 22nd at the Trials. At the conclusion of the season, Webley was recognized for his outstanding debut year with the Patriots as the CAA Men's Track and Field Rookie of the Year, Mason's second consecutive such honor after Pachella captured the award following the 2007 season. In cross country, the Patriots continue to close the gap, earning their second straight CAA runner-up team finish with sophomore Bobby Krause earning First team All-CAA recognition.

In his first two years with George Mason, Gerard led the team to the 2006 IC4A Outdoor Championship, their first such title since 1997. In addition, multiple Patriots have earned All-American recognition including Marc Kellman and Ryan McCoy, both in the triple jump. Kellman was further honored as the 2006 CAA Athlete of the Year for his stellar senior season. The cross-country squad has experienced a similar resurgence in Gerard's brief time at Mason, returning to the success of the '80's by becoming the CAA runner-up team in both '06 and '07.

At William and Mary Gerard was named CAA Cross Country Coach of the Year five times and was the 2000 Southeast Region Coach of the Year in his seven year tenure with the Tribe. Along the way, William & Mary won four league titles. On the track, William and Mary captured the CAA track and field title in 2003, earning Gerard his first selection as conference Coach of the Year.

Along with the numerous athletic successes on the track and cross country course, Gerard's teams have also excelled in the classroom. During his tenure at William and Mary, several cross country and track and field athletes were named to Academic All-America teams. In addition, during his seven-year tenure, nearly 20 athletes received Academic All-America distinction from the two sports governing bodies, the USTCA and USCCCA. The Tribe and Cardinal cross country squads earned Academic All-America team recognition in 1997 and every year from 1999 through 2004. The 2003 William & Mary track and field team was recognized as one of the top-five NCAA Division I academic teams. Capping the success in the classroom have been numerous CAA and Pac-10 Conference Scholar-Athlete selections, an overflowing handful of Phi Beta Kappa honorees and a trio of Rhodes Scholarship nominees.

A 1990 Cum Laude graduate of Colgate University with a degree in Biology and an emphasis on human physiology, Gerard was a four-year letterman with the Red Raider cross country and track and field squads. In 1992, Gerard was ranked in the top-50 in the United States in the steeplechase.

Gerard and his wife, the former Ashley Elder, married in July 2003 and have two children, son Jack and daughter Sydney.